Aggies fall short in SEC debut

Texas A&M University quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) scores a touchdown on a boot leg during the second quarter of a NCAA football game against University of Florida, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012, at Kyle Field in College Station. ( Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle )

By Brent Zwerneman

COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M rid itself of rival Texas and the Big 12 overall but unwittingly added an unwelcome sight to Kyle Field on Saturday: the gator chomp.

And Florida’s players and their fans, in A&M’s first bite of the Southeastern Conference, were chomping at full throttle as the Gators strutted off the field following a 20-17 victory over the Aggies.

“It’s embarrassing,” A&M senior linebacker Sean Porter said of the Aggies blowing a 17-7 lead before 87,114 fans. “You shouldn’t lose games because of mental mistakes.”

Now, new A&M coach Kevin Sumlin must concern himself with his team’s mental state following a strikingly familiar theme, one he had no part of last year but that has spilled over into the Aggies’ new affiliation: second-half collapses.

A year ago under then-coach Mike Sherman, A&M blew five large second-half leads, a big reason Sherman is now the Miami Dolphins’ offensive coordinator. The Aggies failed to score in the second half Saturday in adding to their year-long collection of cave-ins.

“It’s the elephant in the room,” Sumlin said.

The Aggies, too, must make room for another elephant. A&M is 0-8 since 2000 against SEC opponents, with half of those losses coming in bowl games and three more against Arkansas in non-conference clashes at Cowboys Stadium. The last time A&M opened a season against a league opponent, the Aggies fell by the same score, 20-17, to SMU in 1967 in the old Southwest Conference.

“Myself, my team, as a whole we let down Kyle Field today,” said Aggies receiver Ryan Swope, who finished with four catches for a dozen yards against the Gators. “We let down this university. We let down each other.”

The Aggies’ offense clicked early behind freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel of Kerrville Tivy, whose last action came in a high school playoff contest nearly two years ago. He completed 16 of 20 passes for 141 yards in the first half and rushed for 41 as the Aggies built the 10-point advantage.

But, as last year’s team found out, two quarters do not a game make. After compiling 269 yards at the break, the Aggies gained a scant 65 the rest of the way in failing to penetrate Florida territory.

“We weren’t able to establish the run in the second half,” A&M offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said. “And we have to get better at beating man coverage.”

Defensively, the Aggies held their own against Florida’s offense and collected eight sacks, including three by end Damontre Moore and two from tackle Spencer Nealy. Still, the Gators, guided by former UT defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, stung A&M for 10 second-half points. The game-winning score occurred on a smooth sprint along the right sideline by Mike Gillislee for a 12-yard touchdown.

“We were composed at halftime, and no one hung their heads or pointed their fingers,” Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel said. “We just corrected the things we needed to correct.”

While the Gators (2-0) have had two games to do so, including a 27-14 victory over Bowling Green a week earlier, the Aggies (0-1) finally played after their opener against Louisiana Tech on Aug. 30 was postponed to Oct. 13 because of Hurricane Isaac.

“The energy level of the crowd was fantastic,” Sumlin said of his A&M debut — and the Aggies’ SEC entrance. “It’s the reason I wanted to be here and the reason Kyle Field is such a great place. I’m disappointed we didn’t win.”